"Naturally it is our goal to reach the pinnacle there. We will prepare ourselves like a world champion. I also think that we, because of the last four years, are among the favourites. We face up to this task and we put this pressure onto ourselves." - Jogi Löw in his year-end remarks.

“It is truly thus that not everything is as we would hope or wish. Yet there are again always opportunities for a new beginning.” - Angela Merkel in her New Year’s Eve national address.

A recent extension of Joachim Löw’s contract to remain Germany’s manager at least until the 2016 UEFA European Championship in France, is a fairly concise snapshot of contemporary German pragmatism. It would be incredibly un-German to plan for either abject failure or for unbridled success.

The extending of Löw’s term, at least on paper, is likely little more than an attempt to “stay the course,” perhaps intended to relieve the building pressure of expectation in what is an ever-widening gap between titles for a historical football power.

When discussing Germany’s place in football, one must concede that very few nations are able to set expectations so high that losing in the final of a major tournament, as Löw’s squad did in Euro 2008, or settling for victory in the consolation match, like Germany’s finish in South Africa in 2010, are generally accepted as failures.

The fact remains, however, that no manager has failed to lose three consecutive tournaments for Germany between European and World championships, and keep his job.

Though she has held her office a bit longer than Löw has his, the tenure of Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel lends insight to this dichotomy of unmet expectations and continued employment.

Merkel, as expected, won re-election in September despite growing concern her politics are too conservative and unimaginative when it comes to long-term direction and leadership. But a German voter would not have to spend too much time reading the news from abroad to see that things could currently be much, much worse.

So, winning the title is clearly the goal, but consistently finishing among the top four? Well, a lot of nations would trade places with Germany immediately, on both the domestic-finances and the international-football fronts.

Does this make Jogi Löw the Angela Merkel of football?

Probably not. Though, a failure to bring the trophy home this summer would make Merkel the first German Chancellor to be in office during three World Cup tournaments without a victory to celebrate.

And with the tournament final in Rio taking place just four days before Merkel’s 60th birthday, Löw had best not bother to appear at the party without the trophy.